A week and a half before the concert, Twilight and Sunset received their first filming assignment in their video class. They were tasked with making a PSA from a list of topics, Sunset wanted to do one on bullying. They talked to the others and they all agreed to help how they could.
"I'll talk to my parents tonight and see if everyone can come over tomorrow." Twilight told Sunset before getting on the bus.
Sunset watched the bus pull away with the others, a smile on her lips. She was about to go to her car when she saw her three tormentors. Adagio, Sonata, and Aria had been ragging on her for weeks, shoving, taking her things and other classic bullying tactics. And now they were standing in front of her, arms crossed, malice in their eyes.
"Would you look at that girls, Sunset Shimmer has a little group of friends." Adagio sneered. "How desperate are you that you made friends with those losers?"
Sunset felt her blood boil. "Hey, I don't care what you say about me, but you leave my friends alone!" She snapped.
Adagio frowned. "Temper temper, Sunset. You might be loyal to them," an evil grin spread across her face. "but how forgiving do you really think they'll be when they find out what you've done? Do you think they'll still let you into their little group?"
Sunset felt the fight leave her body. "Please don't." She said timidly. "I'm begging you, please don't tell them."
"Are you begging? It doesn't look like it to me. How about you two?" Adagio said coldly.
"Not to me, I think she needs to get down on her knees." Aria said.
"That sounds perfect, what do you think Sonata?" She asked the other girl.
"Hmm? Uhh, yeah get on your knees." Sonata agreed.
"You heard them, kneel down Sunset." Adagio pointed to the ground.
Sunset glared defiantly at her old friend.
"Not going to obey? Well, then I guess you won't mind when I tell your little friends what you did to that poor girl?" The trio began walking away.
"Wait." Sunset said weakly, and walked toward them.
"Good, now on your knees." Adagio sneered.
Sunset knelt in front of them, head down, the sting of tears forming in her eyes.
I deserve this. She thought.
They left her there, Adagio letting her bag strike Sunset as she passed. Sunset looked after them, she noticed an expression of what looked like pity in Sonata's expression before she turned and continued talking with the others.
"Watch it nerd!" Aria said as she shoved a passing classmate. She recognized him from her music class, but couldn't remember his name. The boy stood up, brushed off his pants and bright yellow shirt and lugged a black case in her direction.
"Hey, are you alright?" He asked, helping her up.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes before answering. "Yeah, I'm fine, are you ok? I saw them shove you." She looked the boy over, his brown curls which fell just above his shoulders reminded her of Pinkie Pie. She noticed what looked like a rubber chicken poking out of his backpack.
"Yeah, not my first time being pushed, I'm sure it won't be the last." He grinned.
"You play the accordion in Beauty Brass's music class right?" She asked.
"That's me!" He extended his hand. "Cheese Sandwich, nice to meet you."
They got to talking, Cheese's unending cheerfulness made her smile despite herself. They talked as Sunset walked to her car, he was very funny. He told her that he likes to write parody versions of popular songs in his free time. She thanked him for cheering her up.
I bet he and Pinkie would get along great! She thought as she drove home.
The following day Sunset pulled into the driveway of Twilight's house. She had arrived early to help prepare the lunches they would have while filming their project. She knocked on the front door and heard Twilight call from the other side.
"Come on in Sunset!"
Twilight was wiping her hands as she entered the living room from the kitchen. "Thanks for being willing to help out."
Sunset hugged Twilight. "No problem, I'm happy to."
"Hello Sunset," Velvet greeted her. "How are you today?"
"Hey Mrs. S, I'm good. I'm excited to start filming!" She told her.
The three of them made the fixings for sandwiches and chopped vegetables for sides. Once they were finished, Sunset and Twilight went to the front yard to wait for everyone. Velvet told Twilight to let the others know they were welcome to stay for dinner.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first to show up. Their arrival was announced by country music played loudly from the speakers of her brother's truck. Five people piled out of the vehicle. Big Mac, who lived up to his nickname, stepped out of the driver seat. AJ got out and moved the seat forward to let Rainbow out, who was followed by two younger girls.
"Thanks for drivin’ Big Mac." Applejack said.
"Eeyup." He responded.
"Hey Scootaloo, Applebloom, wanna play some soccer?" Rainbow asked them, grabbing a ball from the truck bed.
"Yeah!" They answered in unison.
The three played two on one. The girl Twilight assumed was Scootaloo was a good player, and noticed that she seemed to be trying to impress Rainbow Dash. Applebloom wasn’t as goof, but seemed content to just be playing the game.
Applejack approached Twilight. "Ah hope it's alright we brought the young'ns. They'll only be here for a bit until Rarity gets here."
"Of course, it's no problem at all." Twilight said.
They were joined by Sunset shortly after, they watched the other three play their game. Rainbow subtly let them get a few goals on her, congratulating them each time. Pinkie Pie arrived on a motorized scooter and quickly joined in on the game. Eventually Rarity was dropped off with her sister Sweetie Belle, and an annoyed looking Fluttershy, by Blue Blood. Sweetie Belle ran to greet her friends as Rarity was saying goodbye to her boyfriend. He took off at a speed that was way too fast for the area.
"Good afternoon, sorry to keep you waiting. Blue Blood had to talk with the coach before bringing us here." Rarity explained.
"It's fine, we haven't been waiting long." Twilight said.
Rarity went to watch the younger girls play with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy still looked like something was bothering her.
"What's wrong Fluttershy?" Sunset asked.
She chewed her lip before answering. "I think something bad is going on between Rarity and Blue Blood."
"What do ya mean?" Applejack asked.
"Well... I can't be sure, but there's just these little things that seem… off. Like her finger, I've noticed she still can't fully move it. I saw her rubbing her ribs earlier today too. I don't know, maybe it's nothing."
This hung between them for a moment, none of them quite knowing what to say. Applejack put a comforting hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. Twilight's mom came out soon after to meet everybody. She got along with everyone very well. She did notice her mother looked uncomfortable whenever AJ and Rainbow showed affection to each other. Big Mac took the younger girls to the apple's house so they could hang out.
Mrs. Sparkle gave Twilight her dad's camera and lunches so they could get started. They all piled into Sunset's SUV and went to a nearby park they had selected as their first filming location. After some deliberation it was agreed that Rarity would play the girl getting bullied in this scene, while Rainbow and Pinkie played the bullies. Rarity seemed a bit hesitant at first but fell into the roll fairly quickly.
During a break between filming the girls discussed their plans for the Fall Formal that was coming up.
"I've already selected my gown for the dance!" Rarity said gleefully. "What about all of you?"
"Well ah've got an old dress that's a little dated but that's fine by me. I don't need nothin’ fancy." Applejack showed them a picture on her phone that she had sent to Rainbow.
"Yeah, I'll probably just do a long skirt and a button up top." Rainbow said.
This news brought a look of horror to Rarity's face. "No! That simply won't do!" Rarity said forcefully. "It's called a fall formal not a fall nice casual. We are going shopping this weekend, we'll go to my parents store, they'll lend them out as long as we're very careful with them."
Applejack and Rainbow tried to protest, but Rarity cut them off.
"No buts! This will be fun, you'll see!" She turned to Fluttershy. "What about you darling? Will you be joining us for the dance?"
"Umm, I'm not sure." Fluttershy responded. "I haven't been asked by anyone yet. I might just help my parents at the shelter that night."
"I'll be sitting this one out too." Pinkie said. "Maud's coming down for the weekend and we made plans to spend time together."
Rarity looked disheartened. "Well we'll miss you girls that night. What about you two? Surely you'll be there." She asked Sunset and Twilight.
Twilight rubbed the back of her neck. "Actually the dance is the same night as the concert, so..." she trailed off.
"Oh poo. I was hoping we could all go to the dance together."
"How about this. Why don't we all promise to make it to the next dance?" Sunset suggested.
Everyone agreed to the terms and finished up their lunches before returning to filming. They had a productive rest of the day. They were able to film several scenes at different locations, depicting different types of bullying before they lost daylight.
They headed back to Twilight's house for a spaghetti dinner. Her father met her friends and instantly charmed them all. This was expected, as her father was a very personable man who got along with everyone he met. After dinner the others went home. Sunset took Applejack and Rarity with her, so she could pick up Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo and take them home too. Pinkie rode her scooter home and texted Twilight when she got in as per her request. Fluttershy and Rainbow were taken home by Mr. Sparkle. Now it was just Twilight and her mom taking care of the cleanup and dishes.
"So what did you think?" Twilight asked excitedly.
"Your friends are just lovely Twilight." She responded.
Twilight sensed something in her mom's voice. "What is it mom?"
"It's just..." she hesitated. "what's going on with Applejack and the rainbow haired girl? I saw some things that seemed inappropriate to me."
"Oh, I mean they're together, like a couple. That's not a problem right? Am I ok to still be friends with them?" She asked, half joking.
"Of course sweetheart," Velvet assured her. "just be careful to not let their choices sway your own."
"Right." Twilight said.
She was bothered by her mom's words though, and worried about what would happen if her mom found out about her feelings for Sunset. Luckily her Dad got home shortly after this exchange and gave a glowing review of her friends. The three of them stayed up a bit longer talking about how their days went before going to bed.